Jeweller survives murder bid

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Tata Main Hospital where Shubhas Burman is admitted. (Bhola Prasad)

Close on the heels of the killing of a 45-year-old Jamshedpur-based travel agent by his wife, her paramour and her brother, a Gamharia jeweller survived a murder attempt allegedly masterminded by his wife.

Shubhas Burman (35) has been admitted to Tata Main Hospital with severe head, chest and abdominal injuries.

A resident of Gamharia in Seraikela-Kharsawan, where he also owns a jewellery shop, Shubhas was attacked over a quarrel with his wife Ranjana (27). The Burmans have been married for three years and have a four-month-old son.

Shubhas, who was admitted to hospital in an unconscious state on Saturday, on Monday gave a statement to the police in which he said that Ranjana, her mother and brother-in-law had made an abortive attempt to kill him. He said he was attacked at an isolated place in Mirjadih, under Bodam police station area, about 17km from Jamshedpur.

Speaking about the incident, sub-inspector N.K. Mondal of Bodam police station said a week ago, Ranjana was caught by Shubhas while talking to her lover over the phone.

When he discovered that his wife was having an extra-marital affair, Shubhas reproached her. An incensed Ranjana on Thursday lodged a complaint with the Bistupur police against Shubhas, accusing him of mental and physical torture for dowry.

“But even as the police were probing the complaint, Ranjana, her mother and her brother-in-law approached Shubhas on Saturday and took him along in a car on the pretext of settling the dispute,” the sub-inspector said.

According to the police, both the accused and the victim enjoyed an outing in Dimna, where Shubhas was made to consume a lot of liquor. After a while, the accused drove the car to an isolated spot, where they tried to kill the jeweller.

Mondal quoted Shubhas as saying that while his mother-in-law sat in the car, his wife and brother-in-law assaulted him.

“The brother-in-law picked up a boulder and hit Shubhas on the head. As the victim screamed in pain, passers-by rushed to the spot, seeing which the attackers fled,” Mondal, who is also the officer-in-charge of Bodam police station, said.

The villagers subsequently informed the police and Shubhas was admitted to hospital in a serious condition.

The officer-in-charge said they have already registered a case of attempted murder against Ranjana Burman, her mother and brother-in-law, both residents of Bistupur on the basis of the statement made by the victim.

Significantly, following the statement made by Shubhas, the police recovered the boulder which was used to attack him.

“The boulder that was found at the place had blood stains on it. We will soon raid the house of the accused and arrest them,” said the officer-in-charge.